Senator's bill would limit HOAs' fining power

BOISE (AP) - A lawmaker who says homeowner associations too often levy unfair and excessive fines against their residents pushed back Tuesday with a bill that limits these neighborhood groups' power to hand out penalties.

Sen. Jim Rice, R-Caldwell, said he has received multiple complaints from people who believe their HOAs were acting unfairly. One of them, a teacher who lives in his district who helped prompt his legislation, was especially aggrieved after butting heads with her neighborhood's association after the summer heat caused part of her lawn to turn yellow.

Rice wants to force HOA boards to hold a majority vote before handing out a fine, with the homeowner receiving a 30-day written notice of the meeting. His bill would also bar the groups from going after residents who are making a "good-faith effort" to resolve the problem.

"It's unreasonable," Rice told the Senate Commerce and Human Resources Committee.

"If somebody is addressing the problem, they shouldn't be fined at all."

The panel voted unanimously to send his bill to the Senate floor for debate.

Rice doesn't live in a neighborhood governed by such an association, but he says one of his constituents got a letter from her HOA telling her the lawn needed work last August.